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Cuisine of Uzbekistan Uzbek cuisine. Food of Uzbekistan
One particularly distinctive and well-developed aspect of Uzbek culture is its cuisine. Unlike their nomadic neighbors, the Uzbeks have had a settled civilization for centuries. Between the deserts and mountains, in the oasis and fertile valleys, they have cultivated grain and domesticated livestock. The resulting abundance of products has allowed the Uzbeks to express their strong tradition of hospitality, which in turn has enriched their cuisine.
The seasons, specifically winter and summer, greatly influence the composition of the basic menu. In the summer, fruit, vegetables and nuts are ubiquitous. Fruit grows in abundance in Uzbekistan - grapes, melons, watermelons, apricots, pears, apples, cherries, pomegranates, lemons, persimmons, quinces and figs. Vegetables are no less plentiful, including some lesser known species such as green radishes, yellow carrots, and dozen of pumpkin and squash varieties, in addition to the usual eggplants, peppers, turnips, cucumbers and luscious tomatoes.
The winter diet traditionally consists of dried fruit and vegetables, and preserves. Hearty noodle or pasta-type dishes are also common chilly weather fare.
In general, mutton is the preferred source of protein in the Uzbek diet. Fatty tailed sheep are prized not only for their meat and fat as a source of cooking oil, but for their wool as well. Beef and horsemeat are also consumed in substantial quantities. Camel and goat meat are less common.
Uzbek dishes are not notably hot and fiery, though certainly flavorful. Some of their principle spices are black cumin, red and black peppers, barberries, coriander, and sesame seeds. The more common herbs are cilantro (fresh coriander), dill, parsley, celeriac, and basil. Other seasonings include wine vinegar, liberally applied to salads and marinades, and fermented milk products.
The wide array of breads, leavened and unleavened, is a staple for the majority of the population. Flat bread, or "non", "lepyoshka" is usually baked in tandoor ovens, and served with tea, not to mention at every meal. Some varieties are prepared with onions or meat in the dough, others topped with sesame seeds or kalonji.
Central Asia has a reputation for the richness and delicacy of its fermented dairy products. The most predominant are katyk, or yogurt made from sour milk, and suzma, strained clotted milk similar to cottage cheese, which are eaten plain, in salads, or added to soups and main dishes, resulting in a unique and delicious flavor.
Plov or Osh, the Uzbek version of "pilaff" ("pilav"), is the flagship of Uzbek cookery. It consists mainly of fried and boiled meat, onions, carrots and rice; with raisins, barberries, chickpeas, or fruit added for variation. Uzbek men pride themselves on their ability to prepare the most unique and sumptuous plov. The oshpaz, or master chef, often cooks plov over an open flame, sometimes serving up to 1000 people from a Single cauldron on holidays or occasions such as weddings. It certainly takes years of practice with no room for failure to prepare a dish, at times, containing up to 100 kilograms of rice. Tea is revered in the finest of oriental traditions. It is offered first to any guest and there exists a whole subset of mores surrounding the preparation, offering and consumption of tea. Green tea is the drink of hospitality and predominates. Black tea is preferred in Tashkent, though both teas are seldom taken with milk or sugar. An entire portion of their food culture is dedicated solely to tea drinking. Some of these include samsa, bread, halva, and various fried foods.
The "chaykhana" (teahouse) is a cornerstone of traditional Uzbek society. Always shaded, preferably situated near a cool stream, the chaykhana is a gathering place for social interaction and fraternity. Robed Uzbek men congregate around low tables centered on beds adorned with ancient carpets, enjoying delicious plov, kebab and endless cups of green tea.


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Rights vs. Identity: Divisions Run Deep Over Hickory Ground
The recent arrest of Wayland Gray, a Muscogee (Creek) Nation citizen, has set off a firestorm of criticism against the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.
Gray was arrested on February 15 this year for attempting to pray at Hickory Ground, a sacred Muscogee burial site in Wetumpka, Alabama, where Gray and many of his people's ancestors were buried. He was not read his Miranda rights, and was forbidden from exercising his religious freedom to pray where his ancestors were buried. Gray's rights were clearly violated, but as horrible as that is, the struggle over Hickory Ground reveals a much larger issue that many people are overlooking.
Much of the debate surrounding Hickory Ground has centered on rights, and everyone seems eager to take a side. On one side there's the Muscogee Nation, seeking to protect the sacred remains of their ancestors, to protect their ancestral lands, to exercise their rights to self-determination and sovereignty. They want the Poarch Band of Indians to live up to their promise to leave Hickory Ground undisturbed. On the other side there's the Poarch Band of Indians, ostensibly seeking to develop Hickory Ground, the property they now own, to build revenues from casino gaming, presumably to benefit members of their tribe. Both tribes are federally recognized, and both sides are Muscogee (Creek), albeit from what are now two politically separate and distinct tribes.
The fault lines have been clearly drawn, and many people across the country, including the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee and Seminole nations, are understandably taking sides with the Muscogee Nation against the Poarch Band. I was one of those people myself. I find it heinous that anyone would think to desecrate a burial site by tampering with or removing human remains, or the sacred objects buried with them.
But when I started reading more and more about the situation, I learned that many in the Poarch Band and Muscogee Nation have been at odds with each other for some time, long before Hickory Ground became the issue that it is today. In the heat of the present battle, it is easy to overlook the larger, historical tensions between the Poarch Band and Muscogee Nation that helped set the current conflict over Hickory Ground in motion.
The Poarch Band of Creek Indians and the Muscogee Nation are both descendants of the original Creek Nation, a union of tribes making up a larger people who once covered most of what is now Alabama and Georgia. In 1836 and 1837, the main body of the Creek Nation was forcibly removed on the Trail of Tears to the Oklahoma territory. The Poarch Band descends from Creeks who received a land grant as a reward for assisting the U.S. government in removing the Creek Nation from Alabama.
This understandably created a lot of tension and animosity between them. Some called them collaborators. Some questioned their Indianness. Others wondered how a tribe could do this to its own people. If this sounds a lot like what's happening today over Hickory Ground, that's because it is.
But back then this was the height of U.S. imperialism. The U.S. government created divisions and flamed the flames that would eventually give way to a sense of separateness of identity and values, setting Native peoples against one another as part of their efforts to take Native lands.
It is no wonder, therefore, that many, in their anger over Hickory Ground, have resorted to questioning the Poarch Band's values and claims of Indianness. History is again repeating itself.
This helps explain why, for example, people like George Tiger, chief of the Muscogee Nation, have said, "We have attempted to convey to the Poarch Band why it is wrong to disturb the peace of our ancestors and burial grounds. However, the Poarch Band does not seem to share our cultural values and respect our traditional ways."
It also helps to explain why others, like JoKay Dowell, of Quapaw, Cherokee, Peoria, Eastern Shawnee and Irish descent, has said on the Poarch page that, "Your group's federal recognition was a sad day for American Indians. Your behavior of playing Indian (yes I've seen your powwows atop a mound) is repulsive. Having the DNA of the original peoples of this land is not enough to call yourselves one of 'The People.' Through the Bible and Christianity, you have been so far-removed from what it means to be Indigenous…"
But if the U.S. government hadn't succeeded in setting the Muscogee peoples against each other in order to undermine their rights and take their lands in the first place, it is doubtful that we'd be witnessing this battle over Hickory Ground and Muscogee identity today.
Taking sides over Hickory Ground therefore means overlooking the fact that not everyone in the Poarch Band agrees with the actions of the tribal leadership. It means overlooking how the tribes were deliberately set against each other in the first place. And it means overlooking their common origins, their common culture, their common values. In short, it means overlooking any common ground that could be used to help both sides heal, and to ultimately resolve the battle over Hickory Ground. It also means making ourselves complicit in the division of the Muscogee people, a division that was set in motion nearly two centuries ago.
Hickory Ground presents an opportunity to heal historic wounds between the Poarch Band and Muscogee Nation. And with the outcome having the potential to set precedent for other inter- and intra-tribal conflicts, it's important to avoid the temptation to take sides and begin looking for common ground and a common solution. Only then can there be healing, and only then can the real battle over Hickory Ground be won.
DaShanne Stokes writes about human rights, equality, and inclusivity and is a doctoral candidate in sociology. You can follow him online at DaShanneStokes.com.

subset: commoncrawl


text: > What's got me and the IT guys stumped is that while the compute nodes boot via PXE from the head node without trouble on the NetGear, they barf with the SMC. To be specific, after the initial boot with a minimal Linux kernel, there is a "fatal error" with "timeout waiting for getfile" when the compute node attempts to download the provisioning image from head. However, when they were running Rocks before I arrived, the cluster worked fine with the SMC switch. Use tcpdump or some equivalent. Run it once with the dumb switch, once with the managed one, and then compare and contrast. > I've tried resetting the SMC switch to factory defaults (with auto-negotiate on). I've checked the /etc/beowulf/modprobe.conf and it doesn't seem to be demanding anything exotic. We've tried swapping out to another SMC switch but that didn't change anything. Detach from the world at large then turn off the firewall on the master. (Probably not it this time, but whenever there are network problems always rule out the firewall before spending time on anything else.) Ipv6 vs. Ipv4? By which I mean, once the kernel boots, perhaps it goes to ipv6, which the netgear handles properly, but maybe that is turned off on the SMC? Regards, David Mathog mathog at caltech.edu Manager, Sequence Analysis Facility, Biology Division, Caltech


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Make Ready Superintendent
Job Description
Looking for an opportunity with a dynamic, fun, and goal-oriented company? We're growing quickly and we're looking for some not-so-typical talent to join our team.
Progress Residential® is the largest providers of high-quality, single-family rental homes in the United States. With more than 90,000 homes across some of the fastest-growing markets, our residents appreciate the flexibility, freedom, and convenience of living in a single-family home without the obligations of home ownership.
Progress is committed to making the home rental process easy and enjoyable for the residents we serve by empowering our team members and investing in innovative systems and technology. Our portfolio has continued to grow substantially the past few years and we see increasing demand for professionally managed single-family rental homes and anticipate continued growth.
Employment with Progress Residential is conditional on a satisfactory background and drug screen.
Text ProgressJobs to 25000 and you can chat with our Recruiting Assistant Kate who can help you find jobs, apply for jobs and answer your questions.
The Make Ready Superintendent is a member of the Property Management team and is a key associate in the rental home make ready process and resident lifecycle. The Make Ready Superintendent is responsible for determining cost and labor estimates, monitoring, and providing oversight of work performed and providing quality assurance during related workflows necessary to get homes to a rent ready status. Make Ready Superintendent are involved in working with both approved vendors and our internal teams to address required construction, maintenance and make ready tasks and orients new residents with their home. The Make Ready Superintendent is responsible for tracking, reporting, and providing accurate records.
* Ability to provide strong customer service to residents
* On new acquisitions develop the scope of work on assigned homes and create the required cost and labor estimate based on Company standards
* Perform pre-move out inspections on homes 30 days prior to resident move out
* Perform move out inspections and determine the labor, vendor and material needs to return the home to a make ready condition and coordinates and schedules this work either directly or through the Make Ready Coordinator
* Ability to track and assign work to third party vendors to ensure that homes move to rent ready status as quickly as possible
* Perform make ready quality and move in ready inspections and is responsible for ensuring all punch list items are completed either by performing the work directly or through coordination with the Make Ready Coordinator
* Complete property inspections, condition reports, costs and estimates
* Strong knowledge of the basic workings of plumbing, electrical, HVAC, flooring, appliance, landscaping, and irrigation systems
* Able to complete some of the basic repairs as needed to reduce cycle times or improve the customer experience
* Responsible for ensuring all punch list items are completed and days to completion are achieved
* Ensure all workplace safety standards and practices are upheld
* Perform new resident move in orientations when needed
* Assist in creation and circulation of weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual reporting
* Follow Fleet vehicle maintenance schedule and keep an organized and clean vehicle/workspace
* Maintain regular attendance and excellent punctuality
* This role is considered Safety Sensitive and full compliance with all Fleet policies and procedures must be always adhered to
* Must be a High School graduate.
* Must have a valid Driver's License in the working state
* 5 or more years of experience as an assistant superintendent, maintenance supervisor or
production home customer service representative
* Knowledge of and ability to demonstrate basic workings of plumbing, electrical, HVAC, flooring, appliance, landscaping, and irrigation systems
* Organizational skills, attention to detail & high-performance standards
* Good communication skills (both oral & written), and must be comfortable scheduling work directly with residents
* Ability to work efficiently and to multi-task
* Proven record of working independently and with minor supervision
* An effective team player with a positive attitude
* Working knowledge of Microsoft Office software and working proficiency with hand held computer (i.e. Smartphone, iPad), Yardi Voyager experience preferred
* Ability to work weekends as necessary
* Bi-lingual a plus
What you can expect from us:
Progress Residential® offers all the financial and non-financial incentives you would expect from an innovative real estate investment and management firm:
In addition to outstanding training, we host quarterly summits and town hall meetings to encourage growth, knowledge sharing and a good time. After all, it's about progress, not perfection.
We offer competitive compensation, including a performance-based bonus.
Our generous benefits package includes comprehensive healthcare coverage for you and your family, parental leave, paid time off, 401k match, 10 paid holidays and much more.
Closing Statement:
This summary is not an all-inclusive description of job duties. Other job duties and responsibilities may also be assigned by the incumbent's supervisor at any time based upon Company need.
Progress Residential® is a proud Equal Opportunity employer, m/f/d/v.
Privacy Policy
Application Instructions
Please click on the link below to apply for this position. A new window will open and direct you to apply at our corporate careers page. We look forward to hearing from you!
Apply OnlinePosted: 2/27/2024
Job Status: Full Time
Job Reference #: JR110001


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We try to make booking your flight as hassle-free as possible. Our Standard Cancellation Protection plan protects you in the event you are unable to travel for the following reasons:
You can protect your travel order with -No Questions Asked Cancellation Protection- which allows you to cancel all your order, for ANY reason, up and until 24 hours before your first travel date and receive refund with absolutely NO questions asked ( the price of -No Questions Asked Cancellation Protection- and original issuance fee from Sky-tours ( $78 ) are non-refundable, refund is calculated over the base fare ).
To avoid abuse of this Service each individual, purchasing a "No Questions Asked Cancellation Protection" is entitled to make maximum 2 claims under a 12 month period. The deductible for each claim is US$100.00 per person and the maximum covered amount per case and person is limited US$ 1000.00.
Additional transportation cost or change fees and/or accommodation expenses incurred to join your connecting flight to get you to your pre-booked final destination; Should you miss your pre-booked connecting departure, as the result of the cancellation or delay of 3 or more hours of your pre-booked flight on your initial outward journey or return journey due to adverse weather, mechanical breakdown or technical fault.
1. YOU must check-in according to the itinerary provided by the airline, and obtain written confirmation of the delay or cancellation from such Tour Operator or Carrier.
2. YOU must produce independent evidence in writing to support any claim.
3. YOU must allow sufficient time to reach your connecting flight
What is not covered:
1. circumstances which could reasonably have been anticipated at the date this insurance was effected.
2. withdrawal from service (temporary or otherwise) of an aircraft on the recommendation of the Civil Aviation Authority or any similar body in any country.
3. Force Majeure like natural forces without any human interference like flood, hurricane, snowstorm. As well any of parliament, legal or illegal strikes, or nationality declarations like turmoil's revolutions, coup d'estat or similar.
up to $1000 per incident
$100 per incident


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Federal and State Health Policy Experts Discuss Solutions to Health Care Disparities
Center for the Elimination of Minority Health Disparities Brings Community Partners, SUNY Researchers to Campus Oct. 7-8
<% If "Yes" = "Yes" Then %>ALBANY, N.Y. (October 01, 2010) -- <% End If %>
Inequities in health care affect many different people, including low-income women living in rural areas; Latina family caregivers; urban youths, and Native American people living near polluted waters. Health researchers from the eastern SUNY campuses will meet with community partners at the University at Albany Oct. 7-8 to discuss these issues and many more, as part of a conference on Community-Campus Partnerships to Eliminate Health Disparities: SUNY Works in Progress. It is sponsored by UAlbany's Center for the Elimination of Minority Health Disparities (CEMHD).
The conference is open to the public and begins at 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 7 in the D'Ambra Auditorium, Life Sciences Building, on UAlbany's main campus. An R.S.V.P. is required; contact Project Manager Loreen Kaiser at email@example.com.
Dr. Garth N. Graham, M.D., M.P.H, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health at HHS |
The keynote speaker on Oct. 7 is Dr. Garth N. Graham, M.D., M.P.H., deputy assistant secretary for minority health in the Office of Minority Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. His office coordinates federal health policy that addresses minority health concerns and ensures federal, state, and local health programs take into account the needs of disadvantaged, racial, and ethnic populations. Graham is on the faculty of Harvard Medical School and is a visiting scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health. He has authored scientific articles on cardiovascular disease, HIV/AIDS, and community medicine. Graham earned his M.D. at the Yale School of Medicine, graduating cum laude.
At the Oct. 8 session, Wilma E. Waithe, Ph.D., director of the Office of Minority Health in the New York State Department of Health, will be the keynote speaker. Waithe earned a doctorate in education theory and practice from UAlbany. A respected authority on policies, programs, and practices affecting the health of racial and ethnic minorities, she has more than 30 years of experience in community health. At the NYS Office of Minority Health, her results-oriented approach has helped position the office as a nationally recognized leader in community participatory approaches for improving minority health.
Center Director and anthropologist Lawrence M. Schell said, "Health disparity is a significant problem in New York and affects cities across the state, not only New York City with its large minority population. The Center does research aimed at eliminating health disparities in New York's smaller cities. The Center's researchers partner with community groups to: identify community health concerns and sources of disparities; plan strategies to alleviate those concerns; and test their effectiveness in scientifically valid ways. We are building relationships with other researchers to help communities. One of our projects involves seeking solutions to a lack of access to proper health care for low-income women living in rural areas of upstate New York."
For more news, subscribe to UAlbany's RSS headline feeds
Educationally and culturally, the University at Albany-SUNY puts "The World Within Reach" for its 18,000 students. An internationally recognized research university with 58 undergraduate majors and 128 graduate degree programs, UAlbany is a leader among all New York State colleges and universities in such diverse fields as public policy, nanotechnology and criminal justice. With a curriculum enhanced by 300 study-abroad opportunities, UAlbany launches great careers. For more information about this globally ranked University, visit https://www.albany.edu/. For UAlbany's extensive roster of faculty experts, visit www.albany.edu/news/experts.shtml.


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Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Assassin of Secrets
Eagle-eyed followers of this blog may have noticed that the last item I posted here has vanished overnight. It was a question-and-answer session between myself and Q.R. Markham, the author of a new spy novel, Assassin of Secrets. As is now being widely reported, that novel has been withdrawn by its American publishers, Mullholland, an imprint of Little, Brown. It will also be withdrawn by Mulholland in Britain, on the grounds of plagiarism. As I gave a fulsome blurb for the book (along with a couple of other writers), and a Google search for the author's name brings up this blog, I've already been contacted by one newspaper, and I don't want this to drag out. I would also like to explain how this happened from my vantage point, and make sure that nobody wastes more time on this. Naturally, I'm embarrassed to have fallen for the deception, and wish I'd spotted it sooner.
In May last year, I received an email from someone called Quentin Rowan, a bookseller in New York who had also published poetry in The Best American Poetry of 1996 and a short story in Paris Review. He said he was a fan of spy thrillers and had enjoyed my first novel, Free Agent, which he had liked for its 'merging of Bond-style action in the field with Le Carre-like behind-the-scenes/HQ intrigue'. He also mentioned that he had a blog about spy fiction, and that he had written a spy novel set in 1968, titled Spy Safari, for which he had an agent who was already seeking a publisher for it.
I found the email flattering, of course, and thought that Mr Rowan was a very astute young man with excellent taste in spy fiction. The fact that his novel was already represented by a reputable agent also made me think that he was not simply buttering me up to read his unpublishable mess. We exchanged some friendly emails, in which I offered him some advice on the rather nerve-wracking process of waiting for responses from publishers, and soon after I invited him to submit a guest post to this blog, which he did (and which I've since removed, for reasons that will become clear). Swimming, I thought. Uplifting. The internet: a collegiate place, after all!
In July, two months after he had first contacted me, Quentin announced that his novel had sold to a major publisher, Little, Brown. He was taking the pseudonym Q.R. Markham – a reference to Robert Markham, the alias used by Kinglsey Amis for his 1968 James Bond novel Colonel Sun – and the book would now be titled Assassin of Secrets. Some time after that, he asked if I would like to read the book with a mind to endorsing it if I enjoyed it, and I readily agreed.
I really did enjoy the novel, which seemed to me to combine all the familar tropes I like about spy fiction into one book, but to use some wonderful imagery and language to do so. I gave it the best quote I could, calling it an 'instant classic' (I am blushing). I agreed to help him promote the book by doing a question-and-answer session with his publisher for use on their website, which we did a few months ago together in Google Docs. As with the book, I was impressed at Quentin's knowledge, insights, and command of language. Our exchange was published online just a few days ago.
Yesterday, while perusing a James Bond forum, I noticed that someone had started a discussion about Assassin of Secrets. Initial commenters were impressed by the excerpt on the publisher's site (as I had been), but one commenter was not, noting that several passages seemed to have been taken verbatim from Licence Renewed, the 1981 James Bond novel by John Gardner. My eyes goggled. Verbatim? Really? I went to my bookshelf and took out Licence Renewed – which I should say I haven't read in several years. And by gum, the commenter was right. It was indeed verbatim. He had changed 'James Bond' to 'Jonathan Chase', the name of his protagonist, and Ann Reilly, Gardner's character, to 'Francesca Farmer', but otherwise entire sentences were identical: 'Then he saw her, behind the fountain, a small light, dim but growing to illuminate her as she stood naked but for a thin, translucent nightdress; her hair undone and falling to her waist – hair and the thin material moving and blowing as though caught in a silent zephyr.' The exact same sentence in both books. I took another sentence at random in the chapter, put quote marks around it, and entered it into Google Books. It was verbatim from another Bond novel, Zero Minus Ten, by Raymond Benson, which I haven't read. Another sentence: verbatim from Second Sight by the American spy novelist Charles McCarry, which I also haven't read. Another sentence: verbatim from The Prometheus Deception by Robert Ludlum, which I have read, many moons ago. He seemed to have taken most of his action scenes and dialogue from post-Fleming Bond novels (at least six of Gardner's), and added long poetic descriptions from several of McCarry's books, as well as the back-story for his protagonist. A bizarre personal playlist of his favourite moments in the genre, I guess, all sewn together with the magic of Controls C and V.
I had hoped that this problem, awful as it was, only affected the opening of the novel, but as I looked into it more I quickly realized that the whole novel was 'written' this way – I was finding it hard to find sentences that had not been taken verbatim or near-verbatim from other sources. I came across a scene that was, apart from the names of characters and locations, precisely the same as one in Gardner's For Special Services. Then I found a scene that was, word for word apart from the names, the same as one in Licence Renewed, for six pages straight.
I considered emailing Mr Rowan to ask him what in blue blazes he was thinking, but decided not to waste any more time corresponding with him – it would make no difference what excuse he came up with. The evidence was incontrovertible, and it was also rather late in the day for explanations. The novel was due out in Britain this Thursday, and my name and now clearly idiotic recommendation was prominently displayed on the jacket. I immediately emailed the publisher, explaining the situation and giving the example from the Bond message board and all the others I had found, and asking them to remove the Q&A I had done with him from their websites – he had of course also plagiarized many of his comments in it, from Dream Time by Geoffrey O'Brien, which was also the source for much of his book's prologue – and to withdraw the book.
This they have done, and very quickly, as well. I think they acted promptly and professionally, and I don't attach any blame to them for any of this. It's embarrassing enough as a Bond fan to admit that I didn't spot massive lifts from these novels. (And ironic in its way, too, as two repeated topics of this blog have been the literary James Bond and Johann Hari's plagiarism.) I don't think it would be reasonable to expect a publisher to check through the thousands of thrillers out there to make sure a book on submission was not a collage of others' work from start to finish. The idea that anyone would do such a thing never even crossed my mind until last night. I am, of course, embarrassed and irritated at having been duped, as it seems so very very obvious now, and disappointed at having wasted time on supporting someone whose writing I admired, when really it was the writing of John Gardner, Charles McCarry and several others.
I also find the whole thing fairly mind-boggling, and have no idea how Mr Rowan thought he could get away with it. He got rather lucky with me in that, although I'm a huge fan of spy fiction, these days I rarely read it, ironically enough because since starting to write spy novels I don't like to expose myself too much to others' takes on it in case some of it rubs off on me and I subconsciously start to echo what I have read elsewhere. I've read at least five of the books he plagiarized, but in all cases I did so long enough ago and I've read enough other books in the genre that I didn't recognize the passages taken from them in a new context, even when they were so brazenly stolen. He managed to get it by Little, Brown, Hodder, me and several others (the book had starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly), but it's not as if nobody else has read any James Bond novels or Robert Ludlum, so I don't really get it. Someone had already noticed from the short excerpt published online. Sooner or later, others would have been reminded of scenes in other books, too, and the game would have been up. Some are now combing through the book trying to find what he plagiarized. I wouldn't bother – it looks to me like pretty much every sentence in it was taken from elsewhere, so you'll simply be wasting your time.
It's such a bizarre thing to have done that I can't fathom the reasons for it. But I do know one thing – I won't be blurbing any more books for a while.
29 comments:
I feel for you. After reading some of the blurbs and positive reviews I bought and read the book and feel duped myself. Although I have to say, I wasn't as taken with it as others who read it. A I read it, it felt extremely cold, canned and without any heart. Not surprising now that it's come to light that it was stitched together like Frankenstein's monster.
My only hope is that his 15 minutes of fame ends here and he doesn't try and spin it as some type of statement on the state of publishing or some such nonsense.Please don't shoulder the blame at all, Jeremy, as you've done nothing wrong. I wouldn't be able to spot verbatim passages from my favorite books taken slightly out of context either and I'm guessing that's what the plagiarist was counting on. I hope that this terrible incident doesn't sully your goodwill for too long.
ReplyDelete- AnonymousNovember 9, 2011 at 6:45 AM
Ah, where is a dungeon when you need one? Now I understand why God made hell.
ReplyDelete As painful as this experience no doubt was, it's also fascinating - and makes for a fascinating post now. Thank you for sharing it. I don't think I would have spotted passages from John Gardner books either, not having read them since the early 90s. It easily could have happened to anyone, but it has to be irritating nonetheless. I have to say, though, as a curious party, I kind of wish you HAD emailed him and demanded an explanation! I would really like to hear his excuse.
ReplyDeleteThat is utterly extraordinary. You must feel awful, but really, as others have said, you're in no way to blame, Jeremy. It's such an outlandish hoax (for want of a better word) that it would be unthinkable anyone would even attempt it, and that you'd therefore be on guard against it. Bizarre.
ReplyDelete- AnonymousNovember 9, 2011 at 12:12 PM
I don't think you should feel uncomfortable at all. You took him at face value.
My mind boggles at the amount of time this must have taken him.. Thank you for writing this explanation. Like other commentors, and like you, I would have enjoyed reading something which 'ticked the boxes' in terms of content and style, and it would not occur to me to wonder why (poor memory for specific lines, in my case)they were doing so - nor to assume it was such a con.
I also avoid reading things in case they rub off & become part of my 'voice' without my realising it.
I'm intrigued to know who this 'author' was, and whether he's written other work; but perhaps that is the kind of thing best 'imagined' in another novel about plagiarism or stolen manuscripts (of which there are plenty).- AnonymousNovember 9, 2011 at 3:25 PM
Let's try this in music terms. He made a mashup and you thought it was an "Instant Classic". He didn't tell you it was a mashup but that doesn't matter because you didn't recognize the samples to begin with when you heard and enjoyed it. Now that someone has pointed out the samples and you know it's a mashup, you don't want it to be heard.
ReplyDelete I don't think that analogy really holds water, McSey. The point of a mashup is the illicit thrill of recognition of two usually well-known tracks, put together in a striking and sometimes creative manner. What Markham – or rather Rowan; he doesn't deserve the same pseudonymous surname as Kingsley Amis – has done is deliberately pass off other writers' work as his own – a LOT of other writers.
I guess you could see it as a bizarre situationist prank – it's the kind of thing that would be amusing if posted online and then admitted to – but to hoodwink Jeremy – and the novel's publisher, and its readers – in the way he did just leaves a bad taste in the mouth.Absolutely, Nick (if I may be so familiar; this is the internet after all). You go into a mashup knowing its a Frankenstein song. That's part of the fun.
In fact, if Markham had published the novel as a mash-up, it would have been a fascinating experiment and commentary on the genre. Could he stitch together disparate parts and make it a coherent, interesting story?
Instead, he tried to pass off others' work as his own, and got caught. Which tells me a) he must have spent a huge amount of time and effort to play with the cut and paste, and b) he was really, really stupid to expect people not to know.
(And, if my vote matters, coming clean should be cause for what little forgiveness needs to be extended. At least you had the good taste to recognize good prose, even if heavily mixed, like discerning that filet was used in beef stew.)Quite right, Bill – I'll be equally familiar, if you don't mind! On reflection, one couldn't even make an analogy with sampling. Even there, a person may not recognise where a sample's come from, but you almost always know it IS a sample. The Beastie Boys' 'Paul's Boutique' is a masterpiece, using a gajillion samples across its length, but in each case, it's obvious that a sample is a sample.
Plus, these days, samples are cleared and the original artists get to see some cash. Somehow, I doubt Rowan cleared his "samples" with the Fleming estate...I agree, no blame attaches to you, or to anyone else who was taken in by this fraud. What upsets me is that time and money were spent editing and publishing a book that can't be sold. These resources could have gone to a more deserving, original writer instead of wasted on someone who hasn't earned them.
ReplyDeleteWhat a very peculiar story.
I've had just that experience - of thinking "interesting argument, well put - this person can really write!" only to discover that the whole thing's plagiarised. But I'm an academic, and we expect it (sadly).
This story is almost a contradiction in terms: you'd have to be pretty bright (as well as dedicated) to make it work in the first place, but you'd have to be pretty stupid to think nobody would spot it (I particularly like the detail that he used plagiarism in the Q&A). Weird.
I wouldn't feel too bad about falling for it yourself, though - authors aren't fans.Please don't be embarrassed - this collection of unattributed quotes made it past many presumed gatekeepers before it ever got to you.
I just hope that the public remembers that blame rests squarely on the head of the sociopath who perpetrated this hoax. And I agree with Jordan Stoen - it's a damned shame that a slot in the publisher's rotation was used up like this.
On to more pleasant thoughts: Puppies! Raindrops on roses! Exotic assassination techniques!He possibly only did this to get his name out there, while simultaneously working on his real book, a much subtler but richer work about a suicidal writer who successful launches his career by pranking the literary world. After the smoke clears (1 year, maybe 2?), he will publish this book under his own name, to much acclaim. It's a good plan.
ReplyDeleteIt was, as mentioned by Nick above. Rowan told me that he picked the name as a tip of the hat to Colonel Sun. I said 'great!' This didn't ring any alarm bells with me: Assassin of Secrets was a spy thriller set in the Sixties, and I was very aware it was Bond-*ish* - I just didn't realize a lot of it was straight from Bond! But it's set in 1968, and about an American secret agent called Jonathan Chase battling a villainous organization called Zero Directorate. So the nod to a late 60s (and somewhat overlooked) Bond novel seemed appropriate. I wasn't a fan of the title, which seemed very generic, but that may have been his publisher who suggested that.


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Washington, D.C., Jan. 10, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Maritime TV, (www.MaritimeTV.com),
a subsidiary Internet TV Channel on the TV Worldwide
Network (www.TVWorldwide.com)
announced that the latest webcast in its Series
'Piracy Mitigation Strategies' Series is
attracting significant international traffic in response to
panelist commentary.
The webcast, now available for on demand viewing on Maritime TV,
was the second in the series and was produced January 8, 2013 at
the National Press Club in Washington D.C., in cooperation with the
Piracy Daily Bulletin. The event was sponsored by AdvanFort, a
recognized leader in global maritime security solutions. The
keynote address was delivered by Rear Admiral Terry
McKnight, USN (Ret.), author of Pirate Alley:
Commanding Task Force 151 off Somalia. Other expert panelists
-- Charles N. Dragonette, a recently-retired
senior analyst on piracy at the U.S. Office of Naval
-- Dr. John A. C. Cartner, a designated Proctor in Admiralty by the Maritime Law Association of the United States; a member of other state maritime law associations, a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association and the Law SOciety fo England and Wales and and the principal author of The International Law of the Shipmasterand Defending against Pirates: The International Law of Armed Guards, Small Arms and Privateers.
-- William H. (Will) Watson, vice president of government affairs and governor with the Maritime Security Council, where he represents the Maritime Industry on the National Council of ISACs (Information Sharing & Analysis Centers), and the president of AdvanFort.
"About 70% of the populations of pirates that we captured are
what we call catch and release," said Rear Admiral Terry
McKnight, USN (Ret.), author of Pirate Alley:
Commanding Task Force 151 off Somalia. "We basically caught
them, we thought we had enough evidence, but higher-up authorities
said, 'A), you don't have enough evidence.' which was telling me we
didn't want to go through the process of trying to prosecute these
McKnight added, "The people who have paid for the
armed security teams have not been hijacked."
"We cannot afford to have the contagion of the violation of the
rule of law spread with piracy and I fully agree with Admiral
Knight that we've got to have Navies doing this, Navies who can
afford to do this," stated Dr. John A.C. Cartner.
"But I also think that those must be supplemented very strongly
with private armed guards, because this is where the suppression
occurs, the tactical suppression, right there, right then at the
"One of our catch phrases at Advanfort is 'Your best deterrent
is our show of force'," remarked Captain Will
Watson. "When the skiffs are approaching the vessel, have
the private security go to the rail, hold their weapons over their
heads and show the pirates that there is armed security on board.
More often than not, that turns them around."
"If governments of legitimately constituted states are not going to
be governing the ocean then it will governed by whoever has the
most firepower to be there at the time, "said Charles N.
Dragonette. "It was the Somalis Pirates for a while...it
will now be the private maritime security companies."
"We're pleased to see the strong and growing international traffic
response to this latest event in our 'Piracy Mitigation Strategies'
Webcast Series on Maritime TV," stated Dave Gardy, Chairman
and CEO of TV Worldwide, Maritime TV's parent network.
"This is a hot topic in the maritime sector and we're preparing to
announce the formation of a Washington Piracy Working
Group to advise us on direction and content for this
series. Our next webcast is slated for February 12, 2013 and will
address Training for Piracy Encounters."
The event was moderated by Martin Edwin Andersen, Editor of
the Piracy Daily Bulletin. This event marks the official
launch of Piracy Daily, which, together with the Piracy Daily
Bulletin, has been created as a critical resource for understanding
a centuries-old (and the first recognized) international crime
against humanity. "We're excited about the strong interest level in
our content since we've launched," remarked
About Maritime TV, a Subsidiary of TV
As a pioneering global Internet broadcasting and streaming media
company, TV Worldwide (www.TVWorldwide.com) developed the first Internet TV
network of community-based interactive channels, including
Maritime TV (www.MaritimeTV.com) in 1999.
Maritime TV is now the industry's pre-eminent channel for live and
archived webcasts and video presentations involving the commercial
and military shipping industry. Programming on Maritime TV ranges
from congressional hearings on important marine industry issues, to
live interactive town hall and advocacy group meetings, to training
on shipboard safety and operational fundamentals. Maritime
entertainment-based programming is also available, including the
entire collection of episodes from the renowned television series,
'Victory at Sea'. Over time the channel has also evolved
into a leading source of industry-specific information for media
outlets in the mainstream press, such as USA Today.
Maritime TV is pleased to serve this industry, so vital to the
global economy, as the world's first maritime TV channel.
About TV Worldwide
Founded in 1999, TV Worldwide (www.tvworldwide.com) developed
the first Internet TV network of community-based Internet TV
channels, primarily targeting niche professional communities
ranging from the Maritime industry to the Digital Media sector.
Known by many in the industry as "Intelligent Internet TV," Fortune
500 companies, 35 government agencies, and numerous International
associations, including the National Association of Broadcasters,
utilize TV Worldwide's live and archived state-of-the art video
streaming content applications and Internet TV channels. In
recognition of the company's unique achievements in new media, TV
Worldwide was selected by the National Academy of Television Arts
and Sciences (NATAS) to webcast past Daytime Emmy Awards and the
Emmy awards for Technology and Engineering. CEO Dave Gardy has been
honored by Streaming Media Magazine in 2008 as one of the 25 Most
Influential People in Streaming Media. Mr. Gardy has served as the
President of the International Webcasting Association (IWA).


text:
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by Sharla Lovelace
Pub date: 4/18/2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Charmed, Texas, is everything the name implies—quaint, comfortable, and as small-town friendly as they come. And when it comes to romance, there's no place quite as enchanting . . .
Lanie Barrett didn't mean to lie. Spinning a story of a joyous marriage to make a dying woman happy is forgivable, isn't it? Lanie thinks so, especially since her beloved Aunt Ruby would have been heartbroken to know the truth of her niece's sadly loveless, short-of-sparkling existence. Trouble is, according to the will, Ruby didn't quite buy Lanie's tale. And to inherit the only house Lanie ever really considered a home, she'll have to bring her "husband" back to Charmed for three whole months—or watch Aunt Ruby's cozy nest go to her weasel cousin, who will sell it to a condo developer.
Nick McKane is out of work, out of luck, and the spitting image of the man Lanie described. He needs money for his daughter's art school tuition, and Lanie needs a convenient spouse. It's a match made . . . well, not quite in heaven, but for a temporary arrangement, it couldn't be better. Except the longer Lanie and Nick spend as husband and wife, the more the connection between them begins to seem real. Maybe this modern fairy tale really could come true . . .
Buy Links:
Amazon * Apple * GooglePlay * Kobo * Nook
Chapter 1
In retrospect, I should have known the day was off. From the wee hours of the morning when I awoke to find Ralph—my neighbor's ninety-pound Rottweiler—in bed with me and hiking his leg, to waking up the second time on my crappy uncomfortable couch with a hitch in my hip. Then the coffeemaker mishap and realizing I was out of toothpaste. Pretty much, all the markers were there. Aunt Ruby would have thumped me in the head and asked me where my Barrett intuition was. But I never had her kind of intuition. And Aunt Ruby wasn't around to thump me. Not anymore. Not even long distance. "Ow! Shit!" I yelped as my phone rang, making me sling pancake batter across the kitchen as I burned my finger on the griddle. I'm coordinated like that. Cursing my way to the phone, I hit speaker when I saw the name of said neighbor. "Hey, Tilly." "How's my sweet boy?" she crooned. I glared at Ralph. "He's got bladder denial," I said. "Possibly separation anxiety. Mommy issues." "Uh-oh, why?" she asked. "He marked three pieces of furniture, and me," I said, hearing her gasp. "While I was in the bed. With him." "Ralph was in the bed?" Tilly asked. "That was the part that caught your attention?" "Well, I just don't allow him up there," she said. "It wasn't by invitation," I said. "I woke up to him staring down at me and then he let it rip." I liked my neighbor, Tilly. She was from two apartments down, was sweet, kinda goofy, and was always making new desserts she liked to try out on me. So when she suddenly had to bail for some family emergency with her mom and couldn't take her dog, I decided to take a page from her book and be a giver. Offer to dog-sit Ralph while she was gone for a few days. "Oh wow, I'm so sorry, Lanie," she said. "Not a problem," I lied. I'm not really cut out to be a giver. "We're bonding." "How's he eating?" Tilly asked. "Sometimes he's shy about eating around other people." I glanced over to see Ralph lick pancake batter off the cabinet, then sit back on his haunches and lick himself. "I think he's doing all right." Tilly sighed on the other end. "Thank you so much for this," she said. "It takes a load off my mind to know he's taken care of." Something in that sentence or in her voice sounded weird. "So, how long are you going to be gone again?" I asked. "Um, well," she began. "Things are a little complicated, so it may be a little bit." A little bit. My weird radar perked up. "Yeah?" I prompted. "Like—a week? What are we talking?" "Well, I'll call you in a couple of days when I know more," she said. "It's—you know, my dad is really sick, and family just gets so—" "Your dad?" I asked. "I thought it was your mom." "Oh yeah," she said. "That's what I meant. Sorry, I'm just a little scattered right now." She laughed. "I'm buzzing on too much coffee, probably." Too much something. Ralphed belched. "Hey, remember," Tilly continued. "When you put him outside to leave for work, talk sweet to him so he doesn't think it's a punishment." "Heaven forbid." "Seriously, Lanie." "He peed on me!" I exclaimed. "His fragile ego isn't my biggest concern right now." "I know, I'm sorry," she said. "I'll send you some money to clean your mattress. I actually kind of hoped he'd cheer you up." What? "Cheer me up?" "You've been so—I don't know—forlorn?" she asked. "Since your aunt died, it's like you lost your energy source." Damn, that was freakishly observant of her. Maybe she got the Barrett intuition. She nailed it in one sentence. Aunt Ruby was my energy source. Even from the next state over, the woman that raised me kept me buzzing with her unstoppable magical spirit. When her eyes went, the other senses jumped to the fight. When her life went, it was like someone turned out the lights. All the way to Louisiana. Honestly, I had this thought. That I'd feel her more after she passed. After all, she'd been the one with all the intuition. A rumor that had wagged tongues in Charmed, Texas my whole young life. Something I'd thought was cool when I was little, spent most of my teenage years denying, and mostly forgot as an adult—living hundreds of miles away. Forgot until I'd go for a visit, anyway. One step inside that old house left little question. There hadn't been any intuition my way, however. No feelings. No aromas of baked apples or orange peels. No sudden penchant for raw honey or the color blue or the new ability to sew. No Aunt Ruby. Well, maybe the honey part, but that was just me. You can't grow up in a bee-farming community and not become a honey addict. I was truly alone and on my own. Realizing that at thirty-three was sobering. Realizing Aunt Ruby now knew I'd lied about everything was mortifying. Maybe that's why she was staying otherwise occupied out there in the afterlife. Then again, lying was maybe too strong a word. Was there another word? Maybe a whole turn of phrase would be better. Something like coloring the story to make an old woman happy. Yeah. Coloring with crayons that turned into shovels. No one knew the extent of the ridiculous hole I had dug myself into. The one that involved my hometown of Charmed, Texas believing I was married and successful, living with my husband in sunny California and absorbing the good life. Why California? Because it sounded more exciting than Louisiana. And a fantasy-worthy advertising job I submitted an online resume for a year ago was located there. That's about all the sane thought that went into that. The tale was spun at first for Aunt Ruby when she got sick, diabetes taking her down quickly, with her eyesight being the first victim. I regaled her on my short visits home with funny stories from my quickie wedding in Vegas (I did go to Vegas with a guy I was sort of seeing), my successful career in advertising (I hadn't made it past promotional copy), and my hot, doting, super gorgeous husband named Michael who travelled a lot for work and therefore was never with me. You'd think I'd need pictures for that part, right? Even for a mostly blind woman? Yeah. I did. I showed her pictures of a smoking hot dark and dangerous looking guy I flirted with one night at Caesar's Palace while my boyfriend was flirting with a waitress. A guy who, incidentally, was named—Michael. I know. I rot. But it made her happy to know I was happy and taken care of, when all that mattered in her entire wacky world was that I find love and be taken care of. That I not end up alone, with my ovaries withering in a dusty desert. Did I know that she would then relay all that information on to every mouthpiece in Charmed? Bragging about how well her Lanie had done? How I'd lived up to the Most-Likely-To-Set-The-World-On-Fire vote I'd received senior year. Including the visuals I'd sent her of me and Michael-the-Smoking-Hottie. So later on, in Aunt Ruby's last days, when said boyfriend—a very fair, blond-haired GQ-style guy named Benjamin—wanted to come with me to meet the woman that raised me, and be with me at the sparse little funeral, I couldn't do that. Not when Lanie Barrett's husband was dark-haired, tall and blue-collar sexy Michael. Which would have come as somewhat of a surprise to Benjamin. "I know, Tilly," I said, pulling my thoughts back to her as Ralph finished up cleaning the cabinets and had come nosing around the counter to find the source. "I probably have been in a funk. Just—nothing's been the same." "Well, and Benjamin," she said, and I could hear the nod. Damn, I really needed to stop talking to people so much about my personal life. I forgot I'd told her about my boyfriend. "Benjamin was a douche," I said, feeding Ralph a burned pancake. Maybe he'd be less likely to pee on me tonight. Benjamin was a douche. He called me cute. He didn't understand the insult, but it was really the whole disclaimer phrase that went with it that got my goat. The words still echoed in my head. I've always wanted that average, girl-next-door, dependable girlfriend. The one that isn't too sparkly. Cute but not gorgeous. I wanted to throw up just thinking about it. Nothing in my entire life had made me feel more mediocre than that. Whether it was true or not, your man shouldn't be the one to say it. Not that I was looking for undying love. I didn't do love. But I was certainly looking for unbridled lust with someone who thought me above average. My phone beeped in my ear, announcing another call, from an unknown number. Unknown to the phone, maybe, but as of late I'd come to recognize it. "Hey Till," I said, finger hovering over the button. "The lawyer is calling. I should probably see if there's any news on the will." "Go ahead," she said. "I'll call you in a few days and see how my Ralph is doing." So, not coming back in a few days. "Sounds good," I said, clicking over. "Hey, Carmen." "Hey yourself," she said, her voice friendly but smooth and full of that lawyer professionalism they must inject them with in law school. She warmed it up for an old best friend, but it wasn't the same tone that used to prank call boys in junior high or howl at the top of her lungs as we sped drunk down Dreary Road senior year. This Carmen Frost was polished. I saw that at the funeral. Still Carmen, but edited and photo shopped. Even when I met her for drinks afterward and we drove over to the house to reminisce. This Carmen felt different from the childhood best buddy that had slept in many a blanket fort in our living room. Strung of course with Christmas lights in July and blessed with incense from Aunt Ruby. That Carmen was the only person I truly let into my odd little family circle. She never made fun of Aunt Ruby or perpetuated the gossip. Coming from a single mom household where her mother had to work late often, she enjoyed the warm weirdness at our house. It wasn't uncommon for her to join us to spontaneously have dinner in the backyard under the stars or dress up in homemade togas (sheets) to celebrate Julius Caesar's birthday. Returning for the funeral, it broke me, walking into that house for the first time without Aunt Ruby in it. It was full of her. She was in every cushion. Every bookcase. Every oddball knickknack. Her scent was in the curtains that had been recently washed and ironed, as if she'd known the end was near and had someone come clean the house. Couldn't leave it untidy on her exit to heaven for people to talk. We sat in Aunt Ruby's living room and cried a little and told a few nostalgic stories, trying to bring back the old banter, but it was as if Carmen had forgotten how to relax. She was wound up on a spool of bungee rope and someone had tied the ends down. Tight and unable to yield. Still, we had history. At one time, she was family. Which is why Aunt Ruby hired her to handle her will and estate. A word that seemed so silly on my tongue, as I would have never associated estate with my aunt or her property. But that was the word Carmen used again and again when we talked. Her estate involved the house and some money (she didn't elaborate), but it had to be probated and there were complications due to medical bills that had to be paid first. Which made sense. It had taken almost two months, and I had almost written off hearing anything. Not that I was holding my breath on the money part. I was pretty sure whatever dollars there were would be used up with the medical bills, and that just left the house. I figured that would probably be left to me. I was really her only family after my mom died young. Well, except for some cousins that I barely knew from her brother she rarely talked to, but I couldn't imagine them keeping up with her enough to even know that she died. I didn't know what on earth I'd do with the house. It was old and creaky and probably full of problems—one being it was in Charmed and I was not. But it was home. And it had character and memories and laughter soaked into the walls. Aunt Ruby was there. I felt it. If that was intuition, then okay. I felt it there. But only there. So I'd probably keep it as a place to get away, and spend the next several months going back and forth on the weekends like I had right after she passed, cleaning out the fridge and things that were crucial. Mentally, I ticked off a list of the work that was about to begin. That was okay. Aunt Ruby was worth it. "How's it going over there?" I asked. "Good, good," Carmen said. "How's California?" Oh yeah. "Fine," I said. "You know. Sunshine and pretty people. All that." I closed my eyes and shook my head. Where did I get this shit? "Sounds wonderful," she said. "It's been raining and muggy here for three days." "Yeah," I said, just to say something. "So the will has been probated," Carmen said. "Everything's ready to be read. I wanted to see when you'd be able to make it back to Charmed for that?" "Oh," I said, slightly surprised. "I have to come in person?" "For the reading, yes," she said. "You have to sign some paperwork and so do the other parties." "Other parties?" "Yes—well, normally I don't disclose that but you're you, so…" she said on a chuckle. "The Clarks?" she said, her tone ending in question. "As in my cousins?" Really? "I was surprised, too," she said. "I don't remember ever even hearing about them." "Because I maybe saw them three times in my whole life," I said. "They live in Denning. Or they did. I don't think you ever met them." "Hmm, okay," she said, her tone sounding like she was checking off a list. "And you'll need to bring some things with you." "Things?" "Two, actually," Carmen said, laughing. "Just like your aunt to make a will reading quirky. But they are easy. Just your marriage certificate—" "My what?" Carmen chuckled again, and I was feeling a little something in my throat, too. Probably not of the same variety. "I know," she said. "Goofy request, but I see some doozies all the time. Had a client once insist that his dog be present at the reading of the will. He left him almost everything. Knowing Aunt Ruby, there is some cosmic reason." Uh-huh. She was messing with me. I swallowed hard, my mind reeling and already trying to figure out how I could fake a marriage certificate. "And the second thing?" I managed to push past the lump in my throat. "Easy peasy," she said. "Your husband, of course." s smoking-hot body, he'd be okay.
Sharla Lovelace is the bestselling, award-winning author of sexy small-town love stories. Being a Texas girl through and through, she's proud to say she lives in Southeast Texas with her retired husband, a tricked-out golf cart, and two crazy dogs. Her novels include The Reason Is You, Before and Ever Since, Just One Day, Don't Let Go, and Stay with Me.
Sharla writes modern day, quirky love stories with dysfunctional families, love problems, and snarky humor. Because who doesn't love a love story? Especially one with strong women and drama and baggage and hot men that can't get enough of them.…
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Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
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WASHINGTON (AP) - The budget deal in Congress will cost Wyoming, New Mexico and other states $415 million in lost oil and gas royalties over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Legislation implementing the agreement makes permanent an effective 51-49 percent split that favors the federal government in dividing the 12.5 percent royalty collected from energy companies on oil and gas production on federal land. Until 2008 when the Interior Department began setting aside 2 percent of the royalties as an administrative fee, the split between the federal and state government had been 50-50. The administrative fee, renewed several times by Congress, had been scheduled to expire in January.
The government last year paid $2.1 billion to 35 states under the royalties-splitting program for on-shore oil and gas production on federal lands. The largest payments went to five Western states: Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and California.
Returning to the effective 50-50 split would have provided Wyoming an extra $19 million next year and nearly $200 million over the next decade. New Mexico would have collected an additional $10 million next year and Utah $2.8 million.
While supporting the budget deal, Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said making the 51-49 split on royalties permanent "has an extremely negative impact, primarily on the Mountain West."
Rep. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., called the 51-49 split unfair.
"By perpetuating the policy of taxing mineral-producing states to pay for federal government bureaucracy, the deal unfairly burdens Wyoming to support increased spending in Washington," she said. "We need real cuts and real savings now, not more promises of cuts and savings years from now."
Lummis, Bishop and other Western lawmakers have pushed legislation that would allow states to collect their share of the federal royalties on their own and eliminate the 2 percent administrative fee collected by Washington.
Patrick Etchart, a spokesman with the Interior Department's Office of Natural Resources Revenue, said the budget deal does not reduce federal payments to states below what they have received the past several years.
"The recent budget agreement makes (the 2-percent fee) permanent, and will not change the disbursement formula" used for royalty payments to states, he said.
The dispute follows an earlier battle between states and the federal government over whether the states' share of royalties fell under the automatic spending cuts that trimmed federal spending by $85 billion in 2013. Citing the automatic spending cuts, the Interior Department withheld about $105 million in royalty payments to 35 states before eventually releasing the money after lawmakers from Western states complained.
In a related development, the Government Accountability Office released a report this week urging the Interior Department to increase royalty rates on oil and gas production both on federal land as well as from offshore leases, where the rate is 18.75 percent.
Energy companies generated $66 billion in sales of oil and natural gas on federal lands and waters in 2012, according to the GAO. Interior collected about $9.7 billion in royalties. Royalty rates have remained unchanged for decades.
Janice Schneider, nominated by President Barack Obama to be assistant interior secretary for land and minerals management, said at her confirmation hearing that she intends to address the issue.
Taxpayers "should be getting a fair return for the use of public lands and the Outer Continental Shelf," she said.
Follow Matthew Daly on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


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A fan named Mandy in Melbourne, Australia wrote me on Facebook to let me know that today is Anzac Day. She said:
It's a day to remember all those fallen soldiers in war. A memorial day. There is a tradition here to bake and eat "Anzac Biscuits." They are delicious. Just thought you may look into it online and also find a recipe and share this day with your fans.
This was a new one to me, and I got inspired. I found a traditional Anzac Biscuit recipe from the Australian Department of Veteran's Affairs. After a quick search for treacle (aka golden syrup) at my local gourmet market, I was able to whip up a batch in half an hour.
Lyle's Golden Syrup, aka treacle
Anzac Day is similar to Memorial Day in the United States– it's a day to remember all Australians who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations. Here is a bit of history on Anzac Day from the Department of Veteran's Affairs website:
The Anzac tradition—the ideals of courage, endurance and mateship that are still relevant today—was established on 25 April 1915 when the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula. It was the start of a campaign that lasted eight months and resulted in some 25,000 Australian casualties, including 8,700 who were killed or died of wounds or disease. The men who served on the Gallipoli Peninsula created a legend, adding the word 'Anzac' to our vocabulary and creating the notion of the Anzac spirit. In 1916, the first anniversary of the landing was observed in Australia, New Zealand and England and by troops in Egypt. That year, 25 April was officially named 'Anzac Day' by the Acting Prime Minister, George Pearce.
The history behind the biscuits is really interesting. In the early 1900's during World War I, these biscuits were sent to the front lines of battle to nourish Australian soldiers. They are made of simple ingredients that don't spoil easily, which made them a practical choice for shipping to battle zones. They are also eggless, which was helpful because of war rationing– eggs were more difficult to come by than other ingredients. Most importantly they were yummy, and provided soldiers with a taste of home on the front lines.
Since this was my first time making Anzac Biscuits, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Turns out they are pretty tasty! They're less like a cookie and more like a British biscuit (though not as crisp as a digestive biscuit)– they bake up soft, but as they cool they become chewy. The less you bake them, the softer they turn out. I baked them for about 12 minutes– next time I'll try 10, and remove them from the oven when they're only lightly golden. They come out of the oven super soft, but they firm up in a matter of minutes. They'll even stay firm after dunking in tea or coffee. After reading up on the biscuits, I've found that some Anzac Biscuit recipes produce a softer, more cookie-like texture, while others produce a crisper result. This recipe seems to be right in the middle– firm, but chewy.
I only made two changes from the original recipe: I toasted the coconut, and I added 1/4 tsp of salt to the mix to play off of the sweetness of the syrup and sugar. It's important to note that Australian tablespoons are slightly bigger than American tablespoons– an American tablespoon is 3 teaspoons, whereas an Australian tablespoon is 4 teaspoons. I've accounted for the measurement difference in the recipe. If you're having trouble finding golden syrup (aka treacle), I'm guessing maple syrup would work fine and probably give a nice maple flavor to the biscuits. It won't taste exactly the same, but it's a workable sub.
Wishing all my Aussie readers a meaningful Anzac Day!
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Anzac Biscuits
- 1 cup shredded coconut (I used unsweetened)
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup rolled oats (I used Quick Oats)
- 1/4 tsp salt (optional)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 4 tsp treacle, aka golden syrup
- 2 1/2 tbsp + 1/2 tsp boiling water
- 1 tsp baking soda
- More water if needed
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (these biscuits can be quite sticky, so I really recommend the parchment paper if you have it).If you'd like to toast your coconut, pour the shredded coconut into a skillet and heat slowly over medium, stirring constantly, till the flakes begin to turn golden brown. Watch it very carefully, the coconut can go from brown to burnt in a matter of seconds. When it's browned to your liking, immediately pour it into a large mixing bowl.
- Add the flour, sugar, rolled oats, and salt to the large mixing bowl and stir to combine.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter and the treacle together, whisking till well combined. Remove from heat.
- In a small bowl, combine the baking soda with the boiling water, stir to combine. Add the soda and water to the melted butter and treacle.
- Pour the melted butter mixture into the dry ingredients and stir till well combined. If the mixture seems to dry, add a little more water (I added about a tablespoon).
- Drop the dough in heaping teaspoonfuls onto the lined baking sheet, leaving plenty of room for spreading (they will spread quite a bit).
- Bake the biscuits in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden.
- Allow the biscuits to cool on the tray for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.


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08/06/18 Leave the fish in the seas, better have peas
Billboards aimed at saving fish and the Adriatic Sea throughout Croatia
- Continuing "Respect our Sea" campaign with direct messages on the streets
Many people are aware of how beautiful our sea is, but few are informed about a daunting fact that the Adriatic sea is in a grave danger of becominug a wasteland due to overfishing, pollution and climate changes – as much as 50% of the sea area is on the brink of devastation due to decline in marine life populations.
The fishing industry is one of the cruelest out there as far as the number of individuals killed yearly is concerned. In 2016, 85 028 tonnes of fish were caught and reared in Croatia, and as much as 90% of large fish populations have been eradicated in the last 50 years worldwide.
By putting billboards, the "Respect our Sea" campaign, carried out by Animal Friends in cooperation with Eurogroup for Animals, is entering its third stage. Animal Friends have already sent free instructions to coastal cities and municipalities for putting up educational signboards depicting fishing ban on beaches, as well as an appeal to retail chains to stop selling live fish and crabs.
To enable fish to be heard and seen outside the depths of the sea, Animal Friends will put up 30 billboards throughout fifteen Croatian cities. Croatian citizens as well as tourists will be given charming messages saying: "Leave the fish in the seas, better have peas. Sea animals feel the pain just like we do. Respect their life and freedom."
All of our water masses are on the brink of extinction. The evidence of that is an increasing number of endangered species in the Adriatic including: all species of sea turtles and marine mammals, the nobel penn shell, the zoned mitre and the Triton's trumpet sea snails, date shells, the long-snouted seahorse, sea cucumbers, to mention a few. Species of fish that are critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable are: the common skate, the twait shad, the Mediterranean killifish, the dusky grouper, the Adriatic sturgeon, the common stingray, the longnosed skate, the green wrasse, the flathead grey mullet, and the red porgy, with the number of endangered species of fish continuing to grow.
If we want to put an end to the destruction of our blue planet, steps for its preservation have to be made immediately. Despite the information that Croatian citizens are among those nations who ranked the lowest in fish consumption, they should be encouraged to even lower consumption. If this trend continues, soon there will not be any fish to 'consume', and fishing will be done only in muddy and devastated sea.
Fish are not expendable goods or items. They are living beings, who feel pain as much as other animals, with scientists even comparing them to dogs and cats as far as the feeling of pain is concerned. Their only "fault" is that they do not produce sounds or scream. Fish very observably show the will for survival and have their own meaning of life.
In order for the devastated marine life in the Adriatic as well as other world's seas and oceans to start recuperating, it is necessary that we decrease fishing and change our eating habits. Otherwise, according to a 2006 research of a team of eminent ecologists and economists, marine life will seaze to exist by 2048 if we do not make drastic changes in our attitude towards the inhabitants of the sea.
We can manage without fish, but seas and oceans cannot. Animal Friends instruct: Let's not eat fish in order to save their lives and freedoms as well as our planet, and simply find Omega-3 fatty acids in the abundance of vegetable-based foods. That way we will be fed, and the sea kept safe.


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Possibly the last old fashioned pink climbing rose of this year was too beautiful to leave out in the wind and rain, especially after I realised how much it resembled a rose engraving featured in "Treasury of Garden Writing" a favourite book from the Royal Horticultural Society.
The Senior Partner offered to photograph the rose and book together so, I created a pretty vignette on a table in the dining room.
Since getting the new ipad a few months ago the SP has been learning several new photography techniques, he also took the photograph that I'm using as my new blog header image using the ipad.
He used something called PhotoToaster for the altered image above.
Roses by George Eliot.
You love the roses - so do I. I wish
The sky would rain down roses, as they rain
From off the shaken bush. Why will it not?
Then all the valley would be pink and white
And soft to tread on. They would fall as light
As feathers, smelling sweet; and it would be
Like sleeping and like waking, all at once!
Joining Beverly @ How Sweet The Sound for Pink Saturday.
Click on the link for lot's more pink.


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[Pages 138 - 145]
Edited by Myrna Neuringer Levy After having driven the Ukrainians out of Lvov (Lemberg) in November, 1918, the Polish military conducted a pogrom there. This alarmed the whole Jewish population, especially those who, like us, were at the centre of the events. Rumours also reached us about how the Poles treated the Jews in the newly conquered cities. News was conveyed that soldiers cut off beards and sideburns (payes), carried out pogroms against Jewish stores, etc. It is therefore no wonder that the Jewish population was very suspicious of the Poles who came in.
The Poles, on the other hand, when they first arrived in 1919, accused the Jews of being aligned with Ukrainians. Then, when the Red Army was chased out in 1920 they called all the Jews Bolsheviks. And though it was known that during the Polish-Ukrainian war the Jewish national advisory board (with its head office first in Lvov and then in Stanislaw) declared its neutrality in the war between two Slavic nations this did not stop the Polish anti-Semites from carrying on a hate campaign against the Jews for their supposed disloyalty to Poland.
The accusation Jew Bolshevik was something we heard from official Polish circles all the time. This applied not only to the Borchov Jews.
This mutual distrust lasted until the very end. When we look back on the situation now after everything that happened and we want to characterize it all in a few words, we must say it was a time when things were going from bad to worse from an economic standpoint. It was a time of steady decline in the fortunes of the Jews of Borchov, and indeed of the Jewish population in general, including those who had been assimilated. This situation only served to strengthen the Jews' allegiance to their religion and culture.
The majority of Jews spoke Yiddish. Polish-speaking Jews were the exception in the city. While Polish was spoken to some children of a certain age, this was the case only among so-called enlightened Jewish families.
All of the Jewish population was pro-Zionist. Of course, there were those who didn't understand the concept: for these people, Zionism and Yiddish-keyt (nationality) were one and the same. There were some individuals who had a different ideology, sympathized with the Agudah, or with the left-leaning ideologies. There were very few who didn't participate in some way to express their ideology by creating their own separate organizations in the city, or sending representatives to non-Zionist party organizations.
[p. 139 picture holding sign Keren Keyemet Society (J.N.F. Society of Borchov]
On the other hand, all streams of Zionism, starting with Mizrahi and ending with Brit Trumpeldor, carried on active work. There was a general local Zionist committee in the city, a Keren Keyemet Committee, and at a general Zionist yomtov (celebrating the Balfour Declaration) the whole Jewish population participated.
It was during this time that the number of children who studied Hebrew increased. The number of subscribers to Jewish national newspapers (Heint [Today], Moment from Warsaw and Khvila in Polish from Lvov) also grew, as did the number of users of the Yiddish Reading Room.
The economic situation of the Jews in Borchov was the same as throughout the land. In eastern Galicia, because of the specific composition of the population, it kept on deteriorating mainly because of the constantly growing organized competition from the Poles and Ukrainians. It was their aim to develop amongst themselves a third stand of peddlers and tradesmen and by doing so, to get rid of the Jews. In our area, Polish merchants from the west (poizn) would come and suddenly out of the blue, open stores or businesses. This meant that we had to deal with cooperatives. For instance, the Polish Robnick sold implements to the peasants for farm work, thereby diminishing the income for the long-established Jewish iron merchants. The Skep Mizeshchensky was in Das Polski establishment, where the Starostved was in charge and competed with the established Jewish stores.
The Ukrainian competition was felt even more strongly than the Polish noblemen's competition. Maridna Tohovla cooperative was in the location of Dos Narodni which had existed before World War I. Then, a second competitor came along, the Soyuse. This co-op, on the one hand, purchased all products that they needed from the peasants, in this way eliminating the Jewish buyers, and the Jewish agent. On the other hand, it also provided them with articles for their daily needs. In this way they eliminated the Jewish small dealer. In addition, we must take into consideration that this attempt of the Poles and Ukrainians had the aura of patriotism and nationalism which were sanctioned by the political parties through the press, while at the same time they benefitted from the low interest rate set by the state. We can see how detrimental this was for the Jewish merchant or tradesman. It is, therefore, no wonder that Jewish stores were liquidated, and their owners had to either find other work or emigrate or remain without work or income.
[p. 141 picture: sign says Brit Trumpeldore.]
In the Yiddish Economist of May, 1937 we find a list by Yaakov Leshchinsky of the number of Jews who were put out of their local trade, market, and stores. The list is based on information supplied by correspondents in 91 locations. H. Joyber supplied the following figures for Borchov.
In 1932 there were 76 stores in Borchov, 8 Christian ones and 68 Jewish ones. (84.9%) By 1937 there were 18 Christian stores and only 77 Jewish stores, i.e. 81%. In other words: in the course of five years, ten additional non-Jewish stores were established, while the number of Jewish stores grew by only 9.
It was also the same throughout the Jewish business world. We lack the specific numbers, but every one of us remembers, no doubt, that the number of Jewish tradesmen declined because of natural causes (death), emigration, or change of line of work while new opportunities rarely arose. Sons did not follow in the footsteps of their fathers, as was the custom previously. On the other hand, we remember how the number of non-Jewish tradesmen increased, even in trades in which they hadn't been represented before (tailoring, hairdressing, watch making.)
Jewish communal events were often subject to fines: sometimes for not keeping the location clean, sometimes they were imposed for not ceasing business until a few minutes after the mandated seven p.m [closing]. Other times fines were [imposed] for selling something on a Sunday or for not having signs with prices. Gendarmes used to patrol the streets, charging this [merchant] one day, another the next day, and assess fines which the Jew had no choice but to pay. No excuse helped. All of these decrees caused the Jews to close their businesses because it didn't pay for them to carry on.
Jews tried to defend themselves against all these persecutions. A merchants' farein (organization) was established: its main purpose was to gain some influence through their delegates with regard to the turnover tax and unfair restrictions on the size of the business.
As for the Borchover tradespeople, they sought protection in the Yad Kharutzim Farein (which was headquartered in Lvov) and which had existed since before World War I. A Free Loan Bank was also established in order to enable the Jewish merchant to get a loan because he could not get one through the government. These loans were to be at a very low interest rate or to carry no interest at all, but in this endeavor Borchov did not achieve any serious results. The central Jewish organizations (whether in Lvov or Warsaw), the co-ops of the Jews, Tzekabeh and others complained more than once about how hard done by the Borchov Jews were in this respect.
Jews, in order not to perish, and in order to earn a livelihood, started new undertakings in an attempt to proletarize themselves. They undertook physical labor, and when electrification started Jews engaged in this new work and became electricians. They climbed up the high posts, strung electric wires, etc. something new for Borchov.
Jews, mainly women, also tried to get hired in the Magazin a Titun monopoly, where hundreds of men and women including Christians from Borchov and surrounding villages worked at seasonal employment. Some of the Jews succeeded.
All this, however, could not put a stop to the impoverishment process. Some lived on charity, some went begging from house to house, some hungered in hiding. Other Jews lived on what they received from their relatives abroad. Many tried to establish themselves in larger cities, or to emigrate overseas, which was not easy in those years. Some families did suceed in this, however.
We get a picture of the condition of the Jews who were residents of Borchov at that time through their correspondence with Dr. Zvi Heller, who was twice elected in our area to the Siyum (1923 1928). Dr. Heller himself made available to us his correspondence to the extent that it survived.
[We read that] teachers from the public school insulted or even hit Jewish children. The main complaint was the antiSemitism. A Ukrainian Judge resorted to antiSemitic remarks during a court case. The police commissioner even beat a Jew during a court hearing.
Our Siyum deputy intervened in all these cases, even bringing some Borchover matters to court, but to no avail.
As noted earlier, Jewish taxpayers continued to complain of having to pay illegitimate taxes. There were even cases when a Jew, at the end of the year (when the permits were bought for the coming year), would buy a permit of the fourth category, just as in previous years, and in mid year he would get a bill for a higher category (third), and also be fined for holding back the payment!
The Jews had their concessions for operating small taverns taken away from them (1927 from Yisroel Libster, Anshl Weisbrod), as well as the sale of Titun manufactured goods, in general to deal with monopoly items (salt, alcohol, smoking products). Jews were powerless against all these decrees.
Another unjust penalty was delayed attendance to Jewish related complaints.This often ruined Jewish plans relating to studying abroad because at that time, there was a quota for Jews to attend high school.
In general, when a Jew applied to an official, no matter in what connection, even if the matter was finally settled in favour of the Jew, it usually took months and it was necessary to have the intervention of a Jewish deputy in order for the matter to be concluded.
From the following we can see how randomly Jewish property was treated: In a letter dated February 11, 1930 to the Siyum deputy, Dr.Heller, Yisroel Tzifferblat related the following:
About two years ago, the Borchover Starosta, as commendant of the Shcheltzes (Pilsudski's followers) took uniforms from Tzifferblat and he did not pay for them in spite of many requests, and regardless of the intervention of the Starosta deputy himself, until his election in Borchov. Tzifferblat even wrote personally to the Marshelok! If a Starosta could deal this way why is it surprising when the lower ranks committed such crimes against the Jews?
In another instance, Meyer Epstein had his stable confiscated and it was necessary to arrange for the intervention of the higher authorities in order for it to be returned to him. The horse dealers (nearly all of them Jews) were not allowed to go on the fargovitzeh with wagons, etc.
In the province of Borchov it was worse, understandably!
Anti- Semitism was preached by the party organizers, through the government organizations, newly arrived Polish merchants, etc. Some priests played a not insignificant role with their Sunday preaching and teaching. As a result there was a certain tension in the air at all times. If a Jew dared to go out of the city by himself, he was never certain that he wouldn't get a stone thrown at his head by an unseen shagetz (non-Jew). Often it would happen that because of a minor argument at a market between a Jewish and a non-Jewish merchant, the threat of a pogrom could arise. And if an opportune political situation would sometimes happen to arise, one could already see goyim (gentiles) from the surrounding villages arriving in the city en mass with empty sacks. I myself recall such a scene: I was standing at the front of Zaidy's store and saw such peasants. But at that moment they were disappointed because the Polish police did not leave the spot. On the contrary, they patrolled the city armed with bayonets. I even recall how my Uncle Kiva gained courage when he saw this, and asked one of the goyim what use he had for the empty sack
However, in spite of all this, Jews often lived in peace with their gentile neighbours, both Poles and Ukrainians. Jewish children went to the public school and gymasiums together with non-Jewish children, sat on the same benches, and helped each other in the hardest undertakings. Sometimes the relationships were even quite friendly, both between the older generations as well as among the younger generation. There were even some goyim who spoke a perfect Yiddish with loshen kaddish (Hebrew: mother tongue) inserted. Such an individual was Vandzura, a Ukrainian peasant woman, who used to come in to the rebbe Rav Shmuelik to whom she would present such arguments in Yiddish, that it was hard to believe that she was not a Jewish soul. There were even cases when Christian peasants would approach the rebbe for help, or present candles for lighting in shul in order to pray for the recovery of a sick person.
There were also expressions of sympathy for the Jewish people from the Ukrainian or Polish intelligensia. For instance, I recall that when the great Balfour celebrations took place in 1916, the Ukrainian Korchak sent a personal handwritten letter (in a small envelope) with good wishes, etc. The letter was addressed: Do zhidivska narodeh, na rookie copliya Veinshtenia with whom he was in friendly terms. This Ukrainian signed his letter:In the name of the Ukrainian people.
These, and other happenings are worthy of note. For example, if ever, God forbid, a fire broke out in the city (far from a rarity), both Jews and non-Jews would rush to extinguish the fire, actually endangering their lives to save others, regardless of whose home or business was burning. However, all of this could not lay a foundation for widespread peace and did not allow for the possibility that such relationships could exist among the three nationalities that had lived and worked together for hundreds of years in the same soil. [This lack of coexistence remained through] the cursed war years during the German occupation.
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text:
November 16, 2009 by Andrew P. Jones
The December issue of National Geographic Magazine covered the "Carbon Bathtub" as framed and explained by Climate Interactive partner Dr. John Sterman of the Sloan School of Management at MIT.
Check it out online. This beautiful and information-filled graphic illustrates a powerful way to think about the dynamics of the climate system: as behaving a lot like a simple bathtub.
Dr. Sterman has been developing this idea with various colleagues (many of them part of the Climate Interactive greater team) over the past years, going back to two seminal papers with Dr. Linda Booth Sweeney on studies at MIT: "Bathtub Dynamics" and "Understanding Public Complacency About Climate Change." These papers culminated in an important Policy Forum piece in the journal, Science.
For a lighter read, explore the popular version in Rotman Magazine. And experiment with the Bathtub Simulator we built and one that Dr. Sterman built.
Indeed, it was the clarity and explanatory power of the Carbon Bathtub that helped lead several of us here at Sustainability Institute to focus on applying systems thinking and system dynamics modeling to climate issues six or so years ago.
Great work John and great work National Geographic designers and illustrators. Beautiful and important work!